Improving Augusta’s Thriving Tourism Industry

Before I start explaining my concern, I’d like to first state that this is in no way mean spirited or a “shot” at any elected official in the city or anyone employed by the City of Augusta. I believe everyone involved in the city’s government and the city’s daily operations are working extremely hard and doing their best. I want to help. While making a ton of progress volunteering with the Augusta Parks & Recreation committee, the committee’s chair, who was also the city’s tourism director, resigned to take another job. I was disappointed but I was also intrigued. I felt like if I applied and got an interview, I could present my vision for our town and a new, progressive approach to marketing Augusta while also keeping with the traditional approach which had been so successful. But I was then informed the position would be only part time. Again, disappointed. Disappointed that, with a family, I obviously couldn’t work a part time job and disappointed that others did not see the importance of the tourism department and the importance of the city’s image in the social media era. I did not believe that a modern marketing professional would be intrigued by the position with it being part time. Before leaving, the former tourism director left us some figures on the progress the tourism department had made in recent years. The director did this, not because she wanted to boast, but because she feared what might happen when it was announced her replacement would only be a part time employee. The former director feared a decline in revenue generated. These figures were for Bracken County’s tourism (which is predominantly Augusta) and were from Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, Office of Research in Kentucky Department of Travel and Tourism and the US Census Bureau. (See the illustration at the top) The two figures that stuck out the most to me were local tax revenue generated and the tax relief for households. $33,301 in local tax revenue was created in 2017. An average of $91 in local tax revenue daily. While attending council meetings this year, the most common theme is budgeting and squeezing dollars to accommodate important community projects. Why would we jeopardize losing an ever increasing money-maker in tourism? Tourist spending had increased over 8% from 2016 and had steadily improved since 2013. As a result of the taxes generated by tourism, each household in the county saved $78. Meaning, it would have taken $78 from each household to make up for the taxes that tourism generated for 2017. This is important because each dollar was, and is, crucial in budget planning. I actually believe we can improve on these successes. We currently do not have a presence on several social media platforms which are free of charge to use. We do not have social media ads which are at very little cost (as low as $2/day on Facebook). Our city does not currently have aesthetically pleasing graphics which is very important in engaging and enticing younger visitors. We are not creative enough in finding new events, unique vendors and many other popular attractions for younger tourists. As a councilman, I will urge our newly elected mayor to make the tourism director position full time once again. I will also work hard to bring the department up to speed on staying relevant in today’s media culture. I offer a knowledge of communication, graphic design, web design, web marketing and social media marketing. I hope to direct the city into a future for our tourism department while also staying the course with what has always been successful.